Weekly News Roundup: October 27

Staff Writer

While 93 per cent of brands are making some efforts to make their mobile checkout experience better for consumers, it seems that too few are exploring genuine innovation and advanced optimisation in this area. At present, the average mobile checkout process is three web pages long, increasing the chances of customers abandoning their purchase out of frustration.

During a Q3 earnings call, Twitter’s CFO Ned Segal remarked that “two million or more” new users visit Twitter every day. (This definition of “new” includes users resurrecting old accounts.) But that growth is undermined by the number of existing users the platform is losing at the same time.

Instant messaging service WhatsApp and its parent company, social giant Facebook, have been accused of “non-compliance” with EU data protection laws, specifically in instances of WhatsApp sharing user data with Facebook without adequately making users aware and securing their consent.

Ride sharing app Uber has listened to its users and is finally solving a long-standing issue by incorporating a new “add a stop” feature, which will allow people to pick up or drop off friends on their route.

Streaming app Spotify is reconsidering its efforts in original video, and pulling the plug on its current programming while it goes back to the drawing board. Spotify has struggled to make sufficient money from video, despite partnering with ESPN and Comedy Central on licensing deals.

BuzzFeed has been in the business of selling ad space for some time now. More recently, it started selling gadgets, too. Now the company wants to do both, BuzzFeed Product Labs plans to make original ads for inventors, in exchange for a cut of the sales of their gadgets.